2.4 m 1 Ton Flatdeck

How much trailer do you need before a bakkie load stops being the answer? The 1 ton flatdeck trailer is where most working buyers land: a 2 400 mm deck, an 1 800 kg axle on twelve blade springs, run in brakes and a published 1 600 kg gross vehicle mass carrying a stated 1 000 kg payload. Two builds are priced on this page, one as a flat platform and one with 800 mm removable rails.

1 ton flatdeck trailer specifications

Choosing between the flat platform and the railed build

The platform build sits 910 mm tall with a 410 mm side, which makes it the easier one to load a mower, a generator or a pallet onto from the side with a forklift. The railed build takes the sides to 1 200 mm with 800 mm rails that lift off, so it will hold loose material, drums, or a stacked load that would otherwise need strapping in a net. Rails cost 160 kg of tare and about four thousand rand. If you cart loose or tall loads more than occasionally, take the rails, because retrofitting them later is not a cheap job.

A note on the published payload

Both builds are published with a 1 000 kg payload against a 1 600 kg gross vehicle mass. On the platform build that adds up to 1 440 kg with the 440 kg tare, so there is published headroom below the gross rating that the payload figure does not use. We publish the figure the builder publishes rather than calculating our own, and we would rather you loaded to 1 000 kg and weighed it than trusted arithmetic on a web page.

Features

• Load bed of 2 400 mm by roughly 1 530 mm on an 1 830 mm axle rated at 1 800 kg
• Run in brakes fitted as standard on both builds
• Twelve blade leaf springs under a 1 600 kg gross vehicle mass
• Floor pressed in a U shape from 1.6 mm corrosion resistant electro galvanised sheet steel
• Body in the same 1.6 mm galvanised sheet steel
• Tailgate folds down to make loading easier
• 800 mm rails, removable, on the railed build
• 195 x 14 inch six stud spare wheel included

Payload and licensing

At 1 600 kg gross this is a serious trailer and the law treats it as one. Braking is mandatory above 750 kg gross, the combination mass of vehicle and trailer matters, and the requirements are set out in the National Road Traffic Act. Check your tow bar and vehicle towing ratings before you buy, because a 1 600 kg trailer will exceed the braked towing limit of a good many light passenger vehicles. We do not publish licence codes here since the answer depends on your licence and your combination.

How it compares with the 3/4 ton flatdecks

The step down is the braked flatdeck trailer in 3/4 ton form, which keeps 2 360 mm of deck but on a 1 250 kg axle, ten spring blades and a 1 070 kg gross rating for 750 kg of published payload. The jump to this model buys 550 kg of extra gross rating, a wider and longer deck, a heavier axle and two more spring blades. Everything braked in this catalogue is grouped in the braked utility trailer category.

What the extra money buys

There is a budget range in this catalogue that carries similar loads at roughly half the price, and it has its place. At this level the money is in the running gear and the paperwork: an 1 800 kg axle under a 1 600 kg gross rating rather than an axle worked at its limit, a twelve blade spring pack, a braked hub on a six stud light commercial wheel, a U pressed galvanised floor, and published tare and gross figures for both builds that you can take to a weighbridge or hand to an insurer.

Specifications